When I first came to Central Asia I ignorantly thought I would see nomadic and traditional living spread out through each nation, massive yurt settlements sprawling mountain sides everywhere for me to go and explore thousands of years old traditional living. Instead I found endless soviet block architecture dropped in by the soviet empire. Equally as visible was the systematic soviet ways of living, which seems to have pushed the nomadic way of life out of visible site.
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| house gate in Issyk-Kul. |
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| People waiting in line for selfie tower. Cholpan-Ata |
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| Issyk-kul ("warm lake" in Kyrgyz language) is known for not being warm. For Kazakhs, late July to early August is when you go. To visit out of this period qualifies you as an idiot. |
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| yurt in a guesthouse compound |
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| 5300' above sea level and a 2200' depth, Lake Issyk-kul is a mid-summer hot spot for the surrounding countries of Kyrgyzstan. Its elevated clear air has attracted many, from tuberculosis patients to even Gagarin and other soviet astronauts. |
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| Since 2001, Kyrgyzstan had been hosting international military bases of both Russia and the United States until 2014 when the US military base closed. |
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| wine em, dine em, __ em |
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| traditional Kolpoks. $1.30 |
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| yoplait vodka breakfast |
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| Main stadium in Cholpan-Ata where most events of the games take place. |
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| The classic game of Kokburu is played along with 23 other nomadically grown games. |
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Kokboru is like basketball except instead of Nikes you wear horses and instead of a leather ball you got a headless goat. A Kazakh man told me the newly formed US team, riders out of Jackson Hole Wyoming, played "beautifully" against the Kazakh national team, but understandably lost.
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| free shuttles and hitchiking |
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| While most events take place in the Cholpan-Ata stadium, the real cultural experience lays 15 miles north of the lake in a massive yurt filled valley secluded up in the mountains. |
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| For Kazakh people there are stereotypes of Kyrgyz people being aggressive trouble makers. In our two days here we received 3 free hitch hikes and endless smiles. The locals seemed very concerned if we were enjoying our time in their borders. |
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| 8 miles before reaching the valley traffic came to a stand still causing many to abandoned their motorized vehicles for more of a nomadic traveling experience. |
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| welcome to yurtlandia |
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| This eagle has always been a handy hunting companion for the nomad. Now the act of eagle hunting is competivized for the Nomad Games. The eagles are also used as a tourist gouging device. The winged beast is placed on the arm of camera wielding attendees. When the attendee is mesmerized and frozen by the beast perched on their arm the owner than encourages the selfie before softly asking for money when photoshoot ends. |
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| USSR medals |
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| security checkpoint |
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| the Kolpok cap council |
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| Traditional Kyrgyz outfit. Economic class is visible by fashion. The higher the class the larger the sheep count. |
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| ride it like you stole it. |
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| The games are a celebration of the traditional life, sports, and customs of the nomadic people. Nations are given a chance to prove and showoff themselves traditionally and creatively on an international stage. |
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| Gurbanguly, the walking horse from Turkmenistan |
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| The gold skinned Akhal-teke horse, symbol of Turkmenistan, has been pure bred for thousands of years in the region of modern day Turkmenistan. They are known for their pride and can have varying personalities. Some will only allow their owner to touch them. |
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| onlookers |
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| horse skin selfie |
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| Plov, round bread, fresh watermelon and more about to be consumed in a parking lot picnic. |
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| Man playing bayan, traditional Russian instrument, while women sing Kyrgyz songs. |
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| Reaching back to your ancestors traditions thousands of years ago and opening a world wide games dedicating to their life style says mad respect. In no way did I feel that in-between the traditional and contemporary clothes drew the line between tourist with camera and the romanticized past. |
My two day experience here outweighed the strenuous bus ride from kazakhstan to get here ten fold. All around Lake Issyk-kul was like a capsule of central asia where the guest is watched with eagle eyes in all cases of hospitality. After the rough first night of unsuccessfully sneaking into the opening ceremony, my girlfriend and I thumbed on the towns main road and were picked up by a young Kyrgyz couple. When I asked "skol ko" in Russian they replied "free" in English. Upon reaching our motel they confessed they only stopped for us because I looked like I was sad and having a bad night. They then dropped us with big smiles and wished us a better day tomorrow.
